Shoes

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a shoe comprising a part ( 1 ) for retaining the sole ( 3 ) under the foot ( 2 ), said part being rigid and bent, and the upper portion ( 11 ) of which extends over the top of the foot ( 2 ), the central portion ( 12 ) of which passes between the toes, and the lower portion ( 13 ) of which is attached to the sole ( 3 ), characterized in that the retaining part consists of at least two elements which can slide relative to one another and be retained in the selected position, one of the elements comprising the upper portion ( 11 ) and the other element comprising the lower portion ( 13 ).

The invention is particularly but not exclusively an improvement of the shoe that I patented under the number FR 0706370. This shoe has the advantage of being able to retain the sole under the foot with a single anchor point in the sole, a part covered with a removable decorative member. Seen from above, only a bare foot can be seen, covered, for example, by a piece of jewelry that can be changed at will. This shoe comprises a relatively rigid, curved, retaining piece under the foot, whose upper part comes on top of the foot, the central part passes between the toes, and the lower part is attached to the sole. The rigidity of this part is sufficient to maintain the sole under the foot with it alone. In other words, when only this part is lifted, the shape of the shoe is practically unmodified; the sole does not sag under its own weight. The upper part of the retaining piece, several centimeters in length, and the decorative object that is attached to it is in contact with the top of the foot and with the sole located under it clamps the foot. But feet, even of identical sizes, have different thicknesses. To adjust the shoe, one of the possibilities is to have a souple, flexible retaining part adapting by deformation to the different feet thicknesses, the souplesse being limited by the need to retain the sole.

An improvement to this shoe, particularly for very thin or very thick feet and for lighter soles, is that the retaining part comprises at least two members that can slide between themselves and maintain themselves in the selected position, one of the members comprising the upper part and the other the lower part of the retaining part. For example the upper part is extended by a substantially vertical flat, a leaf, passing between the toes and sliding in the interior of a tube attached to the sole.

The leaf and the tube can be switched, or the upper part has an oblong bore and slides in a flat, a leaf, attached to the sole, passing between the toes and emerging above them.

In order to retain a selected position, the adjustment between the members of the retaining part is sufficient tight so that that the aforementioned members do not slide relative to each other under their own weights.

In order to adjust the height of the upper part of the retaining member relative to the sole, a force must be excerted on the latter substantially on the axis of the sliding members; the force exerted by the foot below the upper part is offset and creates a lever arm that traps the sliding parts, in the manner of a clamp. Another means is that the notches on one of the sliding members are received in the notches of the other sliding members and under the pressure of one of the two members that can be deformed elastically. Another possibility is that the sliding members are maintained between themselves in the selected position by at least one screw, or by a strip that can slide between them and that clamps them one against the other. One of the sliding members has a notch with an inclined face enabling it to enter into the other member wherein it slides, but preventing it from completely exiting from there with its other side coming into contact with an abutment of the member wherein it slides.

The patent FR 0706370 describes “An object that has a decorative member on its upper face, a bottom face of a protective material for the foot and, between these two faces, an opening, a slot adapted to receive and retain the upper part of the retaining part can be attached to it”. In order to avoid losing this decorative object, this upper part has a convex surface, a notch located between the fiber end and the decorative member that grasps it, blocking the exit of the latter.

The upper part has a bore that can also enable attachment of the decorative object.

The bards of the sole are raised to prevent rotation of the foot. The distance between the raised edge of the sole in front of the toes and the rear edge of the retaining part rising between the toes is slightly shorter than the latter. The toes are in this manner blocked at the front by the raised edge of the sole and not by the contact between the part rising between the toes and the often sensitive inter-toe of the foot.

The retaining part can be, for example, made of two molded plastic members.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention in a non limiting manner.

FIG. 1 shows the shoe top view

FIG. 2 shows the shoe side view

FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 show side sectional view of the retaining parts

With reference to these drawings, the shoe comprises a sole (3) and a retaining part (1) that holds it to the foot (2). This retaining part comprises two members, an upper part (11) and central (12) bonded to it that can be made by plastic molding or thermoforming, and a lower part (13) and central (12) bonded to it, also made of molded plastic. One of central parts (12) is a flat that slides in the other central part (12), which is a tube. The lower thin, flat part (13), substantially perpendicular to the central parts (12), is bonded in a recess provided in the sole (3).

In order to lock these two members in the selected position, notches (14) are molded on the edges of the flat and act to fit into the notches (15) molded on the interior of the edges of the tube. The flat is split to provide an elasticity that enables the movement of notches (14). Another possibility is a screw (16) passing through a threaded bore in the front edge of the tube that acts to lock the flat, or a strip (20) forming a wedge between the inner edge of the tube and the edge of the flat. The bottom of the edge of the plate has a notch (17) that abuts against a notch (18) molded on the top edge of the tube, preventing the plate from completely exiting from the tube. A convex surface (19) is molded onto the free end of the upper part (11) of the retaining part (1). It makes unintentional release of the decorative object (22) difficult. A bore (21) in the upper part (11) can enable attachment of the decorative object to it. The distance (23) between the rear edge of the central part (1) and the raised part of the front of the sole (3) is smaller than the length of the thong piece (24). 

1. A shoe comprising a relatively rigid, curved retaining part for the sole under the foot, whose upper part comes on top of the foot, the central part passes between the toes, the lower part is attached to the sole, characterized in that the retaining part comprises two members that can slide between themselves and be maintained in the selected position, one of the members comprising the upper part and the other member the lower part.
 2. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the adjustment between the members of the retaining part that slide between themselves is sufficiently tight so that the aforementioned members do not slide relative to each other under their own weights.
 3. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the notches on one of the sliding members are received in notches of the other sliding member.
 4. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the sliding members are maintained
 5. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the sliding members them are maintained between themselves in the selected position by a strip that can slide between them and that clamps them one against the other.
 6. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that one of the sliding members has a notch with an inclined face enabling it to enter into the other member wherein it slides, but preventing it from exiting with its other side coming into contact with an abutment of the member wherein it slides.
 7. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the upper part has a convex surface, a notch located between its free end and the decorative member that encloses it.
 8. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the upper part has a bore.
 9. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the distance between the raised edge of the sole in front of the toes and the rear edge of the part of the retaining part rising between the toes is slightly shorter than the latter.
 10. A shoe according to claim 1 characterized in that the retaining part can be made of plastic. 